Missives and musings along the way to the bottom…

Recipe: Brownies… with wine

This is probably the single most incredibly easy recipe I could possibly share with you. Each and every time I mention this in the tasting room, the reaction I get just makes me laugh. I’m not a scientist and don’t claim to be one, so I have no real clue what it is that wine does to brownies, but let me tell you… they’re incredible.

To make this recipe, you want to find a box of brownie mix. Not just any brownie mix, but find one that actually calls for the same amount of oil and water in the mix. Don’t be daunted by the idea that you might not end up using the “name brand”… a generic brand will work just fine. Keep searching on the back of the box to find one with this ratio. I have no idea why it’s important, but it is.

Second step? Replace the water in the recipe with an equal amount of red wine. Here’s the thing… you can use a dry red wine, like a Cab Franc or a Malbec… you can use something with some Residual Sugar like Hanover Red (from James River Cellars) or Rad Red (from this same winery)… you can use a red Flip Flop wine if that’s what you’ve got on hand. It’s all up to you.

Next step is to go back to the recipe and continue to follow it through the baking process. I suggest underbaking these by a little, checking after the first time suggestion on the box. If a knife, stuck into the middle of the brownies, comes out “mostly clean”, go ahead and take them out of the oven and let them cool.

Once your wine brownies are cool, cut them and enjoy them with your friends and neighbors. Since the alcohol in the wine is cooked out, these are fine for kids to eat as well… provided they’re allowed to have this kind of chocolate-yummy-goodness.

You’ll probably be asked for the recipe…. feel free to point them toward this blog. I love sharing my recipes, as you can tell by this blog!